* * *
Knowing he wasn’t used to kissing, I parted my lips first.
Batista hesitated, then pulled away slightly.
But when our tongues met, his arms around my waist flinched.
Cute.
The almighty Batista, acting like a king wherever he went, was nervous about a kiss.
Adorable.
‘I’m happy.’
Batista—the Hero—loves me.
It’s like a miracle.
I can’t believe it.
But this kiss was the undeniable proof.
Joy flooded through me.
I don’t know if this is the right thing.
Someone like me… is it really okay for me to be with a Hero?
I spoke honestly, thinking I owed Batista the same sincerity he gave me.
But from a broader view—not just as a person, but for all of humanity—was it the right choice?
Can someone like me truly be the one he shares “true love” with?
Would this help him awaken the Holy Sword?
Even as happiness filled me, doubt rippled beneath the surface.
The same question that’s haunted me since I returned.
But even so…
‘It feels too good to stop…’
I don’t want to let go.
His warmth, his soft lips, the way Batista wants me—everything is so good, I don’t want to give it up.
As the kiss deepened, I could feel his breathing grow heavier.
Heat laced his every breath.
Just like me, he must’ve been excited for this long-awaited kiss.
Especially for someone as inexperienced in this as Batista, the intensity of it all might’ve caught him off guard.
But Batista never backed down.
Every time our lips parted, he came right back, unsatisfied.
And now, he’d gotten so used to it, he even started nibbling on me.
His hands slid from my waist down my side, fingers tracing along my spine.
The shiver it sent through me had me letting out a quiet moan.
It was an unmistakably bold seduction.
Come to think of it, Batista had already been restless even before reading the letter… and it was me who tried to push him away.
Now, with our hearts aligned, of course he’d want to take things further.
But… is this really okay?
I confessed how I felt, but I haven’t told him everything.
Batista shared his deepest truth with me… maybe it’s time I talked about the regression.
This feels like the right moment—before things go too far—to share that secret.
“Hey, Batista.”
After the kiss, I called out to him in a shaky voice.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Batista didn’t answer. Instead, he reached for my belt.
Whoa—no, wait! Listen to me first!
“H-Hold on. Just a sec!”
I grabbed my pants before they slipped down.
I’m really sorry for stopping your second attempt to seduce me, but seriously, I have something important to say!
“…Just a sec?”
A voice returned, low and impossibly heavy. I
t was clearly laced with intense emotion—so much so, it sent a jolt straight to my spine. It was sexy enough to make my waist tingle.
Maybe it was the kiss that had dragged on and on, but I could see a faint flush at the corners of Batista’s eyes.
His gaze had gone hazy, softened with anticipation of the pleasure that was yet to come.
I was speechless.
“Right now?” I blurted out.
……
“No!”
I don’t know either!
Come to think of it, I had plenty of chances to say it before!
But whatever—what matters is that we’re dating now!
Yeah!
I mean, our tongues and arms are already tangled up on this bed—backing out now just feels wrong on a human level.
Honestly, it doesn’t even make sense for someone like me to reject Batista twice.
“I-I just wanted to ask… if it’s okay for me to undress you…”
I steered the conversation in a different direction with a line that made sense for the moment.
Maybe it wasn’t the most fitting thing to say after claiming I had something serious to talk about, but Batista gave a little chuckle anyway.
Weirdly enough, it sounded like he found me cute or something.
Suddenly, I felt a little shy.
“Go ahead.”
Whoa.
I just threw it out there, and he actually gave me permission.
Undressing your boyfriend isn’t exactly a big deal when you’re in a relationship, but I was nervous anyway.
It’s all because Batista’s finely sculpted body is just… too much. Too provocative.
I gently undid the leather chest armor that protected his torso, careful not to scuff it as I laid it down beside the bed.
The shoulder guard came off along with it, followed by the brown cape that fluttered from his other shoulder.
I was only helping him out of his gear piece by piece, and yet I couldn’t stop trembling.
Even after removing the cuirass (a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material), he still had tight, glossy leather armor covering him from the waist down.
It hugged his body so perfectly that every curve of his physique was still on display.
His upper body came into full view.
Those broad shoulders, thick chest, firm pecs—and below that, a narrow waist that wouldn’t even fit fully in one of my arms.
He had picked me up with just one arm, after all…
I’m well over 180cm, but Batista was nearly 2 meters tall.
Even among adventurers, his build was something else.
No wonder I was getting excited all over again.
I began undoing the buttons of his armor one by one.
As it opened, the black shirt underneath came into view.
It was pressed so tightly against his skin from being inside the leather armor that every defined muscle underneath was clearly visible.
I swallowed hard, unconsciously.
Not just his solid pecs, but even the carved lines of his abs peeked through.
There was something subtly erotic about it—more suggestive than full nudity, even.
“Like what you see?”
Ack.
Was I too obvious?
I might’ve been ogling him like I was about to lick him clean.
His body was just too tempting to undress him casually.
“Y-yeah. I’ll hurry up.”
I quickly removed the arm guards too.
Now I could finally take off his shirt.
The fact that I was the one stripping Batista down to his bare skin made me incredibly tense—but he let me, calmly.
His gaze said, as long as you’re happy, I’m fine.
God, how is he so kind…
Seriously, how could I not fall for someone like this?
With trembling hands, I finally finished disarming him.
As improper as the thought might be, armor is just… really in the way when you’re in the mood for sex.
Shoulder guards, chest plate, bracers—how many layers does one man wear?
Not that I’m complaining.
Stripping each piece let me enjoy every inch of Batista’s enticing body.
And now that it’s all off—wow, this is on another level of hot.
Even when he had just one layer on, I thought it was dangerously sexy.
But there’s just no competing with the raw allure of bare, muscular skin.
Without realizing it, my eyes were glued to his thick arms and solid thighs.
It’s obscene.
And all this… is mine?
Wait, do I even get to call him mine?
Or am I the one who belongs to Batista?
My body was pushed down.
Lost in useless thoughts, I hadn’t even noticed—and now Batista was on top of me.
Still, I didn’t resist.
Even the weight of his body pressing down on me felt sinfully good.
But what’s he trying to do?
He said we wouldn’t do it with me on top again because he couldn’t control his strength.
And besides, we haven’t even prepared yet.
We’ll have to… do something for the back first.
And since we don’t have anything right now… maybe I can get him to come first.
My body trembled.
* * *
